Porkhov Fortress, Porkhov, Russia

First record about Porkhov fortress was made in Novgorod's chronicles in 1239. Knight of Novgorod Alexander Jaroslavovitch ('Nevsky') established the trade way along Shelonj river from Novgorod to Pskov by building of small wooden strong points. Porkhov fortress was one of them. Its fortifications consisted two lines of earthen ramparts and ditches and wooden wall above the ramparts.

In 1346 Great Lithuanian knight Olgerd invaded the Novgorod's territory and took by storm fortress Luga and Shelonj and sieged fortress Opocka and Porkhov. Porkhov stood it's first test. Lithuanians got the war indemnity in 300 rubles from the fortress and got away. In 1387 new stone fortress was erected on the right bank of Shelonj river. The fortress had four towers. Towers had 15-17 meters height and 4-6 wooden levels and walls had 1.4-2 meters thick and 7 meters height. The towers pushed out from the wall's line and could flanked the approaches to the walls. All building works were finished within a year.

July 1428 Lithuanian knight Vitovt besieged the fortress. It was the first siege in Russia with mass artillery shelling. The fruitless siege endured 8 days and fortress was badly damaged. In 1430 the big reconstruction was in the fortress. Thick of it's walls was increased considerably up to 4.5 meters at the most dangerous parts. The gates of the fortress were reconstructed too - the portcullis were arranged.

After seizing the Novgorod and Pskov territories by Moscow in 1478 and 1510 the state border was moved to the west far from the fortress. There were not any storms and sieges of Porkhov from this time. It's fortifications lost it's value soon and preserved till nowadays not disturbed by later rebuilding and reconstructions.

The trade city appeared near to the fortress. In 1776 it became the area administrative center. Rapid city growth begun in 1890s after the railway Pskov-Dno was built. The fortress ruined gradually as long as some repair works were held in 1912.

During the WWII Porkhov fell under German occupation for 4 years. Nikolskaya church in the fortress was in action during the war. It's abbot father Pavel was linked with partisans and provided shelter for escapees from German POW camps. February, 1944 German troops burnt the city and gone away.

Now Porkhov is one of the small Russian provincial cities. There few old city buildings preserves. The fortress is restored partly. The wall along river bank is reconstructed and could be observed, but towers are still in the ruined condition without roofs and floors and could be visited only by your own risk. There are the little local museum and nice botanic garden inside of the fortress. Nikolskaya church which was closed in 1930-th is on the duty now.

References:

nortfort.ru

Address

Старорусска, Porkhov, Russia

See all sites in Porkhov

Details

Founded: 1387
Category: Castles and fortifications in Russia

More Information

en.wikipedia.org
www.nortfort.ru

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

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User Reviews

Марина Е (26 days ago)
The fortress is under reconstruction, the courtyard inside is cozy, paths, everything is well maintained, the fortress itself is small

Владимир Зыков (9 months ago)
Now the fortress is being restored, but it is perfectly preserved as it is. Inside there is a church and several small museums that everyone really liked. Excursions need to be booked in advance, but you can still have a great time there.

Елена Полежаева (2 years ago)
A practically destroyed structure. The wall is still being restored. There are three museums on the territory of the fortress, one of which is the postal museum. There is also a church. Interesting planting of green spaces. There are very old thuja. The fortress itself is small in size. Were in the winter, so you can't really admire the beauty at this time of the year.

алекс бородыч (3 years ago)
Renovation is in progress. An update of the museum exposition is required, as what is left to be desired. But at the same time, the fortifications themselves are gorgeous. Before restoration there is an opportunity to assess what they are built of, then I suppose everything will be laid with bricks.

Maria Illarionova (3 years ago)
One of the most cozy and atmospheric fortresses in the Pskov region. An amazingly atmospheric place, carefully nurtured by the staff, with a lovely garden. But for the summer of 2021, it is completely in the woods. I'd love to see the results in the near future :)

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